The Canadian industry has innovative producers pursuing the opportunities in the broader bioeconomy, writes Andrea Kent of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association. Canada is well positioned to become a leader in advanced biofuels and bioproducts.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has published the February issue of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, reporting ethanol production is expected to average 938,000 barrels per day this year, increasing to 936,000 barrels per day next year.
Ten more corn ethanol plants were approved through the U.S. EPA's efficient producer petition process (EP3) at the end of January, bringing the total to 19. The first round of nine approvals were announced in December.
USDA put a number to a projected increase in ethanol use in its Feb. 10, supply/demand report. Based on the higher forecasts for 2015 gasoline consumption, the USDA raised expected corn use for ethanol production by 75 million bushels.
On Feb. 10, the USDA hosted a media call announcing more than $280 million is being made available to eligible applicants through the Rural Energy for America Program. Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted recent improvements made to REAP.
There are winners and losers in a U.S. Supreme Court decision made last summer, writes James Pray of BrownWinick Law Firm. There are U.S. ethanol producers that are in each of those categories.
Ethanol can be part of a winning strategy to improve air quality in the Omaha area, says the Nebraska Ethanol Board. The association recently started a conversation about ways to lower the levels of toxic compounds mixed in gas.
U.S. ethanol exports hit 836 million gallons in 2014, 6 percent of the total 14.3 billion gallons produced nationwide. According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the 2014 export volume is second only to the 1.19 billion gallons exported in 2011.
On Feb. 4, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., announced the introduction of two bills that aim to alter the renewable fuel standard (RFS), including the RFS Elimination Act, H.R. 703, and the RFS Reform Act, H.R. 704.
Efforts are underway in Oregon to repeal the Dec. 31 sunset date under the state's Clean Fuels Program. Several bills pending in the Oregon legislature aim to remove the sunset date, allowing the program to be implemented past the end of this year.
Representatives of the ethanol industry have spoken out to criticize a World Resources Institute paper written by Tim Searchinger and Ralph Heimlich that rehashes previously debunked theories related to food versus fuel and indirect land use change.
A group of federal agencies are developing an interactive app that will serve as a mobile business directory for U.S. clean energy exports. U.S.-based suppliers of certain energy solutions are invited to apply to participate in the pilot phase.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy is accepting public comments on an environmental impact statement related to proposed confined field trials of engineered high-energy crops for use in bioenergy applications.
On Jan. 29, Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, testified before the U.S. EPA at a Washington, D.C.-based hearing focused on a proposal to lower the National Ambient Air Quality Standard ozone levels.
In late 2014, the U.S. EPA invited the public to nominate scientific experts to be considered for appointment to its Science Advisory Board's Agricultural Science Committee. The deadline for submitting those nominations has been extended to March 30.
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw said that Iowa's renewable fuels industry is "ready to roll" in 2015 at the 9th Annual Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. The IRFA also released an economic study during the event.
Since launching the renewable fuels report in the Agriculture Marketing Resource Center in 2008, retired Iowa State University ag economist Don Hofstrand has followed the swings in ethanol profitability through a model Iowa-based ethanol plant.
A report recently filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's Global Information Network estimates China's fuel ethanol production reached 2.8 billion liters (739.68 million gallons) last year, up 6 percent from 2013.
The International Renewable Energy Agency has launched REsource, an online knowledge platform that enables users to easily find country-specific data, create customized charts and graphs, and compare countries on metrics like renewable energy use.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy has announced plans to award up to $125 million in support of transformational energy projects. The solicitation is the third open funding opportunity announced by ARPA-E.
As the 8th Annual World Future Energy Summit began in Abu Dhabi, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance repeated its call for participants to bring biofuels to the top of the sustainability, economic and climate change agenda.
A new version of an online tool created by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory will help biofuels developers gain a detailed understanding of water consumption of various types of feedstocks.
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has announced a new campaign to promote the renewable fuel standard (RFS) during the 2016 Iowa presidential caucuses. The multimillion dollar effort will aim to educate both candidates and caucus-goers on the RFS.
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance has applauded United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva for his support of biofuels as a key part of the global agriculture complex.
BBI International has announced the agenda for the technical sessions of the 8th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo, North America's largest and fastest growing biomass conference, taking place April 20-22 in Minneapolis.
Predictive computer models have their place, writes Bob Dinneen of the RFA, but where concrete real-world data and observations exist, they should take precedence. Sound policymaking and regulation must be grounded in reality, not hypothetical fancy.
A new white paper written by Ron Alverson of the American Coalition for Ethanol reveals how scientists are applying technology innovations by farmers and ethanol facilities to improve the accuracy of carbon intensity modeling for biofuels.
E15 is available at more than 100 stations in 15 states and it's only a matter of time before E15 is offered in every state in the nation, writes Tom Buis of Growth Energy. The industry got to that point by working together.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., have attached an amendment that would eliminate corn ethanol from the renewable fuel standard (RFS) to the Keystone bill that is currently before the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. EPA has extended the deadline to respond to its notice requesting substantiations of confidentiality claims from businesses that have submitted reports and transactional information on the renewable fuels standard (RFS) through Jan. 23.
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